Lindeman ’ s Lectures: The Game Development Process Robert W. Lindeman Associate Professor...

Lindeman’s Lectures:The Game Development Process

Robert W. LindemanAssociate Professor

Interactive Media & Game Development

Human Interaction in Virtual Environments (HIVE) Lab

Department of Computer Science

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

[email protected]

What to ExpectThese lectures are mainly about the process

of successfully bringing a game from idea to delivery Major "players" in the process Steps in the development lifecycle What makes a good (and bad!) game

Presupposed background Not much!

R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science Interactive Media & Game Development, Osaka Univ. (Summer 2013)

Instructor Background(Who Am I?)

Dr. Robert Lindeman (Prof, “Rob") Associate Professor of Computer Science

Computer Graphics Human-Computer Interaction Technical Game Development

Research interests Effective, Multi-Sensory Virtual Reality, Teleoperation

Like to play 3D Action/Platformers (Onimusha, Oni, Lego Star

Wars) Racing games (Need for Speed) Geocaching

GPS-based treasure hunting in the real world http://www.geocaching.com/


Student Background(Who Are You?)1. School (grad or ugrad)

2. Year (first, second, …)

3. Major (Biology, CS, …)4. Programming: (none) 1 to 5 (master)

Language? Java, C++, Flash…

5. Gamer: (casual) 1 to 5 (hard-core)

6. Number of Games Built (zero is ok!)

7. Other …

8. Email this to me today! ([email protected])


Course Materials http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~gogo/courses/osaka_2013/

Slides On the Web (ppt and pdf)

Timeline Planning

Project write-upsResources

Game creation toolkits, documentation, etc.

Email: [email protected]


http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~gogo/courses/osaka_2013/






Projects4 projectsProject 1: Making Games in Ren’Py

Done solo

Groups! (2 is good)Project 2: Game Inception and DesignProject 3: Make the GameProject 4: Play Testing

Done solo Play and evaluate each other’s games


Overall Lecture TopicsIndustryGame Design Artistic Content Creation Programming


Before We Proceed …

Any Questions?


What Do You Think GoesInto Developing Games? Consider a video game you want to build (or,

one you like that has been built) Assume you are inspired (or forced or paid) to

engineer the game Take 3-4 minutes to write a list of the tasks

required Chronological or hierarchical, as you wish

What do we have?


Project 1 Details


Ren’Py Demo


The Game Development Process:

The Game Industry

Hit-Driven EntertainmentGames are emotional, escapist, fantasy-

fulfilling, stimulating entertainmentCauses of success or failure are often

intangible (but quality matters a lot) Consumers are smart

Hits come from individuals with skill, instinct, creativity, and experience (and some luck), not from marketing


Big Business!Estimated $50Billion/yearAbout the same as movie industryMusic industry: $65B (2009)Pet food: $45B (2009)Game industry: Estimated $65B by 2014

R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science Interactive Media & Game Development

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How the game industry works:


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RolesDevelopersPublishersPlatform HoldersDistributorsRetailersMiddleware/Service ProvidersPress and Academia


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DevelopersThe people who actually build gamesContent design, creation, assembly

Game design, story, dialog, engineering, music, SFX, docs

Size varies (one person to hundreds)Some are part of a publisher or platform

holderSome are independentExamples?


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PublishersThe people who bring games to market

Supervise marketing, manufacturing, distribution, public relations (PR), support

May also handle project management, quality assurance (QA) and licensing

Usually assume most of the risk and reap most of the rewards

Many specialize in particular market segments (sports, MMORPGs, etc)

Examples?


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Publisher Relationship with DevelopersStar developers can bully publishers,

because publishers desperate for good content

Most developers are bullied by publishers, because developers are desperate for money

Publishing swings from big to small and back depending on the market

Most also have in-house developers

Platform HoldersThe people who make and sell gaming

hardware (Examples?)Most are also publishers, developers and

digital distributorsSell platform licenses and replication

services to publishers Stringent certification, final approval

Sell required hardware, software and support to developers


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DistributorsThe people who move boxes and bitsMiddlemen between publishers and

retailersCompete on price, speed, availabilityLow margins (around 3%)Digital distribution is changing

everything


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RetailersThe people who sell boxesAlso sell shelf space and advertising to

publishersEarn 30% marginMass market: Toys-R-Us, Big Camera,

Yodobashi CameraSpecialty stores/chains: GameStopDigital distribution: 30% and growing


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Service ProvidersSound, Music, VoiceoverArtists (2D, 3D, concept)Quality Assurance (testing)Public RelationsAdvertising


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Middleware ProvidersThe people who make and sell

development toolsGame engines, asset creation,

source control, project management

Difficult businessFew customers, large upfront cost

Profitable if you can break in

Service ProvidersThe people who help publishers and

developersArt: Concept, 2D/3D assets, packagingAudio: Sound FX, music, dialogQA: Playtesting, platform certificationPublic relations, advertising, career

placement, vocational trainingConference/award organizers,

professional societies (IGDA)R.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science Interactive Media & Game Development

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Press and AcademiaThe people who talk about gamesPaper/electronic magazines and

books for players, industryWeb sites (Gamasutra), blogsColleges, universities, institutes

Theory, research, career development

Academic journals and conferencesR.W. Lindeman - WPI Dept. of Computer Science Interactive Media & Game Development

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What does it cost to make a game? $50-100K: Budget phone/casual $100-500K: Indy, nice phone/casual, budget

DS, ultra-budget Wii, many PC games $500K-1M: Budget console, better DS/PC $1-5M: A titles (Titan Quest) $5-100M: AAA titles $100M+: Out-of-control AAA

Star Wars: The Old Republic = $300M+


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World of Warcraft$50 Million to make6 Million players @ average of about $12 /

month for 2-3 months = $200 million a year (Less the cost of running those servers)


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Development Models:Developer DrivenDeveloper creates concept, builds demoDeveloper pitches concept/demo to publisherPublisher agrees to fund itDeveloper gets advance $$$ against royalties

based on net receiptsDeveloper uses advance to build gamePublisher boxes, ships, markets, collects $$$Developer MIGHT get more $$$ if advance is

earned out

Gross and Net ReceiptsGross receipts

The amount of money a publisher is paid from the sale of a game

Net receipts The amount of money a publisher actually

earns from the sale of a game after deducting various expenses

Developer royalties are based on netBut what is the net? Better find out!


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Development Models:Publisher DrivenPublisher originates concept (usually a

license)Selects and hires developer(s)Developer earns milestone-based fixed fee

and/or advance against royalties (based on “net receipts,” of course!)

Developer builds gamePublisher boxes, ships, markets, collects $$$Developer might get more $$$ if royalties are

part of deal and advance is earned out


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Development Models:IndependentDeveloper originates conceptBuilds game with self-funding, somehowDeveloper persuades Web-based

publisher(s) to carry the gamePublisher operates Web storeDeveloper gets 30-40% of each salePopular games may get picked up by a

retail publisher and sold in boxesSome developers self-publish, keep 100%

Games are a Tough BusinessLess than 10% of published titles

break evenDevelopment and marketing costs are

risingLicenses and sequels lower riskSelf-publishing is very riskyYou pay a “fun tax” to work in games


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Exercise: Getting to Market2 minutes to write a one-sentence game

description of a game you want to makeForm up into pairs or teams2 minutes to decide on ONE of your ideas


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Exercise: Allocate Points You have 14 points Allocate 0-6 points for each of the following facets:

P: Prototype/Pitch How much effort you place on developing a solid

prototype to pitch to publishers D: Development

How much effort you place on development M: Marketing/Sales

How much effort you place on marketing your project

F: Fun How effective your design is in terms of how much

consumers like your product


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Exercise: Roll the Dice!Everyone stand upFor each roll of the die, please sit down if

the number is greater than the points you allocated for that facet

P: Prototype/PitchD: DevelopmentM: Marketing/SalesF: Fun


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Exercise: How Many are Left?Yes, luck is a factorYou can control it some with skill and money

But there’s never enough of either to make it a sure thing

Lindeman ’ s Lectures: The Game Development Process Robert W. Lindeman Associate Professor...

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